Which Pokémon do you think share common ancestors?

[Peridorito]

Everyone knows about the process of Pokémon evolution. However, that is not the only kind of evolution Pokémon go through: they also undergo darwinian evolution, like real life animals. Most fans know about regional forms and evolutions, which result from Pokémon evolving differently depending on the environment, but Pokémon from different evolution lines are also related through common ancestors. This is confirmed by some Pokédex entries, such as these:

Revived from a fossil, this Pokémon is thought to be the ancestor of all bird Pokémon.

It booms out a victory croak when it's prey goes down in defeat. This Pokémon and Seismitoad are related species.

So my question is: which Pokémon do you think share common ancestors and why?

I'll start off by saying I think Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Chansey and Audino share an ancestor. They are all pink, in the Fairy egg group, have HP as their highest stat and are either Normal-type, Fairy-type or both. That's a lot of similarities.

 

[KaylaBaraonda]

I think all pokemon based on a specific animal would have an ancestor that looked more like that animal, and that pokemon evolution tree is similiar to our evolution tree.

The Pikaclones are possibly all related to each other moreso than they are to the other rodents. Or they just maybe fulfill the same "niche" as Pikachu.

Luvdisc and Alomomola are propably closely related.

Pokémon Origins Project This might interest you.

 

[Esserise]

Funny thing about Archen is that the Ultra Moon Pokédex actually walked back that claim, in accordance with newer real-world scientific findings about the archeopteryx no longer being the oldest known bird.

Ultra Moon Pokédex: "Once thought to be the ancestor of all bird Pokémon, some of the latest research suggests that may not be the case."

At the same time, Sun & Moon do confirm that Drowzee and Munna are thought to share an ancestry. They're both Psychic-type dream-eating tapirs, so it makes sense.

 

[KaylaBaraonda]

Funny thing about Archen is that the Ultra Moon Pokédex actually walked back that claim, in accordance with newer real-world scientific findings about the archeopteryx no longer being the oldest known bird.

Ultra Moon Pokédex: "Once thought to be the ancestor of all bird Pokémon, some of the latest research suggests that may not be the case."

At the same time, Sun & Moon do confirm that Drowzee and Munna are thought to share an ancestry. They're both Psychic-type dream-eating tapirs, so it makes sense.

they're also thought to be both descended from the legendary baku of japanese folklore

 

[Parissong]

I would like to revisit the Clefable/Gengar theory and posit that those two came from the same ancestor, but was branched due to circumstantial reasons that lead them to where they are today

 

[Esserise]

I may or may not be serious:

Spoiler

 

[Trainer Gabriel]

I wonder if there's any connection between Magikarp and Feebas, given that they both evolve into serpentine forms that are contrary to their fish stages (weakness and ugliness, repsectively).

Maybe all of the two- and three-stage birds of every respective region are also related.

 

[nickdt]

Solrock/Lunatone/Minior

Tauros/Miltank

Squirtle line/Tirtouga line

Turtonator/Torkoal

Drampa/Dunsparce

Aerodactyl/Skarmory

Bruxish/Basculin

Alomomola/Luvdisc

 

[clintondiya]

This would be a great addition to gen. VI! Like, a Pokédex sorting feature for ancestor. Perhaps some Pokémon could have more than one, for example Charizard, who could have the dinosaur and bird ancestors.

 

[Frozen Fennec]

I like to think that at one point in time, the Caterpie, Venonat, and Wurmple evo lines all shared a common ancestor and eventually diverged into their own unique forms after moving to separate places around the world.

 

[Peridorito]

This would be a great addition to gen. VI! Like, a Pokédex sorting feature for ancestor. Perhaps some Pokémon could have more than one, for example Charizard, who could have the dinosaur and bird ancestors.

That would be amazing!

I like to think that at one point in time, the Caterpie, Venonat, and Wurmple evo lines all shared a common ancestor and eventually diverged into their own unique forms after moving to separate places around the world.

I agree, and I would include Weedle and Scatterbug too. I think most early game bug-types are related.

 

[Pyrax]

All primate Pokemon definitely. There's the obvious Chimchar/Pansear and Grookey/Pansage, but maybe Mankey and Aipom too? Millions of years ago, there might've been a primate Pokemon who branched off into a Normal-type family and a Fighting-type family.

 

[hanecco]

Deerling & Stantler